Belle Isle loading zone spaces cut back, time limits extended

Last week, Miami Beach began enforcing 30-minute time limits on 18 parking spaces around the Belle Isle that were designated as loading zones during the day for workers.

The Belle Isle Residents Association had asked for the loading zone spaces to try to eliminate the gridlock around Island Avenue caused by workers unable to properly park vehicles during weekdays

After a week of enforcing the new rules, a couple of things became clear. Many spaces weren’t being used, in part because the 30-minute time period appeared to not be long enough, said Belle Isle Residents Association President Scott Diffenderfer.

Even though the enforcement began after a significant warning period, some people were surprised when they were ticketed and towed.

At the end of last week, Diffenderfer said, BIRA asked the parking department to trim the number of designated spaces and increase the maximum parking time allowed.

Earlier this week, Miami Beach cut the number of loading zone spaces from 18 to 9, and doubled the time allowed, from 30 minutes to an hour.

“The city is being very cooperative with us,” he said. “We are responding to people. We are listening.”

One hour is still not sufficient time. If you have someone coming to give an estimate-parking, walking to the building, checking in with the front desk, going up the elevator…..leaves very little time.